


Lion's Body, Serpent's Tail

by RoseBloodCat



Series: Voice Actor/Bendy!Harry [5]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 02:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15038894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseBloodCat/pseuds/RoseBloodCat
Summary: Harry runs himself mentally ragged to find a way to avoid having the memories of the studio staff erased, and himself removed from their lives.He cares a lot for them, more than he initially expected he would.





	Lion's Body, Serpent's Tail

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually stuck on how to write the next part of this one, so if you have suggestions, PLEASE TELL ME.

 Harry had hidden in a back corner of the Toy Department, sitting on the floor with his tail curled around his feet. Hoping to finally have a quiet place for him to sit down and think.

In a fashion that reminded him of being in Hogwarts again; by the next day, everyone in the studio _not only_ knew Henry and Joey had gotten into a fight, they also knew that Bendy had collapsed and that somehow Joey had turned Harry _into_ Bendy, and now he had his memories back.

The only consolation (in his mind) was that they didn’t try to treat him like he was frail, or damaged by whatever had happened to him.

He couldn’t remember being changed, and they believed him. But they did seem to feel the need to hover over him a bit. As Bendy, he’d had the mindset of a child, and they had treated him like one (for the most part), and now they were working to connect their coworker to the face of the childish toon they had spent most of the week with.

Joey, while he hadn’t been separated from everyone, had at least three people keeping an eye on him. And even with the kicked puppy look he had, he never once argued it. He understood that there was a reason for the suspicion and that he had broken the trust of his co-workers (and his friend), and would have to earn it back over time.

Harry planned to call Mrs. Monroe later in the day, but he needed a few moments to himself to plot out what he was going to say to her.

Rappaport's Law was the major issue for him, and what posed the largest risk right then. (And it was such a _stupid_ Law. Couldn’t they see that isolation was exactly what _caused_ the incident that made that law in the first place?)

He knew it was, would be repealed in the future, it was one of the few historical things he could remember from Hermione’s ranting about the subpar classes taught by Binns, but right then it was still active. And therefore, still an issue.

He knew they wouldn’t be inclined to get rid of Harry himself since he was an “exception” in the laws due to his time displacement, and due to the prophecy related to him in the future. They couldn’t risk it being something serious that could land them in _major_ trouble later. Because of that, the DoM were the only ones that really knew about his presence (though they _may_ have told the President about him, he wasn’t really sure though).

The only thing he could think of was presenting the situation as a “social experiment” to them since it was obvious that no one at the studio seemed to really have any problems with magic. No one had really gotten upset about Bendy suddenly being _real_ when Joey had presented him to the rest of the staff, they all just seemed to roll with it.

Even after learning he was actually Harry, it didn't seem to bother them. Or even that he had been magical before that.

It was harder to think of ways to convince them they _should_ allow the exception than it was to find reasons for them to not just alter everyone’s memories and leave.

There were too many records of Harry’s presence for them to not figure out someone was missing from the staff. There were a huge number of recordings of Harry voicing Bendy, and Grant kept excellent records of the Studio's finances and the pay that went to the employees. Not to mention all the records Joey kept in his office, the health records for the infirmary, the little notes the other employees all had about him in their homes, they would notice if he was suddenly just gone, and there was no explanation why.

And Joey had already proved he could effectively use magic (even if it was in the form of a ritual).

Joey had explained why he had done what he had to Harry (under threat of another beatdown from Henry), he wanted to bring the toons their studio had created to life because of how much they meant to everyone. But the only rituals he could find for doing that involved sacrificing someone with a strong connection to what he wanted to create since Joey himself wasn't inherently magical and a person without any magic of their own couldn’t make something out of nothing.

But he’d discovered that, if he performed the first ritual with someone that _was_ magical, their magic would soak into the objects used to allow him to make the rest of the toons without having to do any more sacrifices. And he had set up the ritual to only _change_ Harry, without actually killing him, while still infusing the tools with Harry’s magic. He had also wanted to give Harry a ‘second childhood’, so to speak, since he seemed to think Harry had grown up in a harsh situation.

(Was Harry an abused kid? He… He honestly didn’t know. The Dursleys hadn’t been good people, they had never been good people, but… Had the way they raised him _really_ been abusive?)

As well-meaning as he may have tried to be, it was entirely possible Joey would try a ritual like that again. And there was a very real chance things wouldn’t turn out as well as they had with Harry. If they took Harry away and erased the man’s memory, what would stop him from just trying again? With someone that _wasn't_ magical? Or something worse?

The idea made him sick, but it was very possible. If Joey was willing to use a living person in a ritual once then, given a bit more time, he would probably do it again.

“Harry?” Harry looked up to see Henry standing over him, a worried look on his face. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Are you alright? Is something wrong?”

He gave a weak smile and shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just… I just needed some space to think.” He murmured. Henry watched him for a moment, frowning slightly, then nodded.

“If you say so, Harry.” He said softly. Harry wanted to sigh but held it back. “You said about talking to your landlady soon, right? Is she magic too?”

Harry nodded, the tip of his tail twitching subconsciously, bumping against the side of his leg. It was easier to talk to Henry about this sort of thing, he had a much better idea of when to push and when to just let things lie.

“Do you think she might know a way to…” He hesitated, then vaguely gestured at Harry’s changed body.

“Fix this? I have no idea. Probably not,” Harry muttered with another shrug, idling twirling the tip of his tail around his finger. “I’d never even _heard_ of something like this even being possible. But there’s always the chance she could know something I don’t.”

There was a moment of silence, then he heard Henry sigh. The man slumped down onto the floor beside him, draping an arm over Harry’s smaller shoulders and tugging him against his side. (Part of Harry wanted to squirm away from the contact, another just wanted to curl up into Henry’s warmth and never leave)

“I meant what I said the other day, Harry. I still plan on helping find a way to get you back to normal…”

“I know Henry, I know. But that’s not what I’m worried about…” He mumbled, finally surrendering and letting his head fall against Henry’s side. The man blinked in surprise at that.

“It’s… Not? Then what are you worried about? I want to help...” Harry hesitated, debating trying to explain the laws of MACUSA right then, but simply sighed and shook his head.

“I’ll explain it later Henry. After I’ve talked with Mrs. Monroe. It’s just… It’s really complicated. And I’ll need some other input on what I can say.”

* * *

 

Harry finally worked up the nerve to make the call in the afternoon. He had taken over one of the offices (after politely booting everyone else from the room). He stood quietly by the desk where the phone sat, holding it to the side of his head while listening to the ringtone, his tail twisting and flicking behind him.

He hoped Mrs. Monroe would be willing to listen, she didn’t seem the sort to jump to conclusions, but he didn’t want to take a chance. He really didn’t want a fuss to be made that could draw too much attention to himself or the Studio. It would only cause trouble for them all.

He nearly jumped when the line was finally picked up. (He probably had, toon logic and all)

“Hello?” He swallowed nervously and spoke.

“M-Mrs. M? It’s me, Harry.”

“Harry?! Oh my goodness, are you alright? Where have you been? Are you okay?” Harry felt himself smile slightly at the concern in her tone.

“I… I’m okay, f-for the most part. It’s hard to explain over the phone but… Something, well, something happened to me. Something magic related.” Harry said, rubbing at the back of his head subconsciously. “This... this is definitely an Unspeakable thing though… Could you come to the Studio after hours? It would be easier if I could talk to you in person.”

There was a moment of silence at the other end of the line, then;

“Is there any specific specialty I should bring with me?” Harry hesitated, then took a fortifying breath.

“Rituals, and maybe transfiguration.”

“Alright Harry, I trust you. I’ll come by with a specialist after sundown.” Harry nodded without thinking.

“Thank you, Mrs. Monroe. I’ll see you then,” he said. He hung up the phone. Now he just had to wait for them to arrive. And to not let himself fall into a panic before then.


End file.
